Today’s Reading: Jacob 2: 1-19
19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
We are so well taken care of. Among countless other things, our great God lends us breath, watches over us, comforts us when we ache, offers glorious grace through the atonement of His Son and provides for our physical needs. It is of physical things that we are pondering today.
According to Jacob, we, as a people, have much to learn about money, its purpose and when it is appropriate to seek it. “And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if you seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good- to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” [i] (emphasis added) Not many among of us have accomplished this state of being yet, but it is ok to be a work in progress.
In the scriptures, there are a few examples of this principle in action but none more lasting than the people of Enoch, even the people that became Zion. Enoch’s people did not begin as a Zion people and, in fact, they did not even accept Enoch at first. We read that “all men were offended because of (Enoch).” Enoch persisted though. He taught them about temporal things when He told them how his forefathers learned to write from the very hand of Jehovah and about the heavens and the earth. He taught them the glorious plan of salvation. He told them about entering into the covenant of baptism and surely the people were riveted when he told them of the miraculous baptism of Adam and of Adam receiving the priesthood. He taught the stunning truth that Adam was a son of God, [i] and that they could become God’s offspring as well. [i] Enoch taught and he taught and he taught and eventually, the people listened.
We know that this once uneducated people listened because of what they became. Eventually, instead of thinking of Enoch as a “wild man,” [i] the people embraced him as their leader. Then this:
“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” [i]
So righteous did they become that, “the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.” We further learn that Enoch and his entire city were translated and that their city was taken from the earth to return at a later date. [i] [i]
Apparently, living this higher law, in regards to our stewardship with physical goods, is paramount. When we consecrate our substance to those in need, and we truly seek to have no poor among them, the Lord can look on our hearts while our actions simultaneously testify as to who we’ve become. No, Enoch’s people didn’t start out as a Zion people but they certainly learned to live that way and continue to do so today. They learned and they became and so must we. Won’t we rejoice if, when Zion returns, there is no poor found among us?
Jeni Brockbank and her husband Bart are parents to 6 amazing children. She finds great joy in being a wife and mother and feels that both callings are sacred privileges. Jeni is a continual student of the scriptures and loves to share her testimony with anyone who will listen. She teaches choir, is crafty and is grateful on a daily basis to live a few blocks from the Brigham City, UT temple.